Funny this thread should come up. I just got back from Blockbuster....Rented it!!

Hi Scott,

The Movie "Madison" is reality based, with a touch of "dream dust" that pretty accurately describes their 1971 APBA Gold Cup win. The characters referenced in the movie were real, and indeed were real characters in the truest sense. The current Miss Madison races as Oh Boy O Berto, boat # U-6. I've been driving her since the 2001 season. Several of the characters in the movie are still alive and still help out, including Tony Steinhardt and Bob Hughes.

The current Miss Madison (O'berto) was built by Ron Jones in 1988 for Alllison power. She was converted to turbine power and rebuilt in 1991 with the aid of the Budweiser team. She has since raced as Kellogs Frosted Flakes, DeWalt and Jasper Engines. Since 2000 she has been the O'Berto. She was thoroughly rebuilt again between the 2004 and 2005 race season. The 2005 season just ended and the boat ended up #2 in high points while I was fortunate to win the National Drivers Championship. This is the first overall championship the Madison has won in her 45 year racing career.

Thanks for inquiring Scott. Hope life is treating you well. If you find the time, feel free to visit one of our Unlimited races in 2006. I'll have VIP passes waiting for you. Schedule and info can be found at ABRAhydroplanes.com or MissMadison.com.

Take care,

Steve David

Maybe someday Julie!! We rented it the first day it was released and loved it!! After seeing the previews of Madison before " The Passion of the Christ" we were hooked. I think I made 100 phone calls to the video store waiting for it to be released. We would go to Evansville Ind. and watch them starting about 1975 to I think 1988. It was the "Boy's" weekend out. The Circus Circus Boat was always my favorite back then, although the Atlas Van Line and Ms. Bud seemed to always be the fastest.

Steve, your a great ambassador for the sport,, I hope you guy's can find the funding and Host Cities to keep the sport going!!! I know its been a challenge!!

Offshore was on ABC in the 80's......... when it had 125+ boats at a race and 25-35 in the Open class....and all races were sanctioned by 1 body, APBA.

It transitioned from there to ESPN to ESPN 2 to Prime to MSG to Speedvision to TNN to OLN...... as the fleet's dwindled and the sanctioning bodies multiplied..........

Look for it on "Wayne's World" when the boat count goes below a dozen.

T2x

Congratulations Steve....It's a tribute to you and that town for your perserverance in this lifelong effort.

T2x

Just saw the movie with my son...we loved it. I agree the "real" movies at the end were a nice touch. I appreciate Steve's comments on the authenticity of the story...but I have one question.

Did the Miss Madison team really "barrow" an Engine out of a relic WWII plane on a static display??? I found that incredible and hilarious

Thanks a ton and congrats to you and your team, Glad to see a 1st class team make it!! I will for sure have to check out a race this comming summer.. the boats sure have come a long way.. those old school guys had to be NUTS (I guess kinda like the current guys )

If memory serves me correctly, Madison was running Allison power back then and a P-51 Mustang sports Merlin power. Someone will correct me if I'm wrong. I believe that was an embellishment by the movie's writers/director.

You're correct, the P-51 was Merlin powered. 1650 cubic inch V-12. That part of the movie was a bit of artistic freedom used by the Movie's directors. Had it been a P-38, with 1710 cubic inch Allisons, no doubt my guys would have "borrowed" the engines The spirit of the folks portrayed in the movie is very much the same spirit of the townspeople to this day. Gritty, hard working, self deprecating, yet racers with a dream to the core. Whether they are 6 years old or 96, they always have had a dream and they've always been the soul of our race program. I cannot imagine a finer team to be associated with.

Thanks to each of you for your kind words and for renting or seeing the movie. The 13,000 residents of Madison IN. thank you for your kindness. May I invite all of you to come to the Madison race in 2006, July 4th. weekend. We'll have VIP passes for each of you. We've a lot to share and I think it just might rekindle what the sport of boat racing was all about.

Take care,

Steve

i am going to get it tonight can't wait to see it